HMIS ''Narbada'' (U40) was a Modified Bittern class sloop, later known as the ''Black Swan'' class, which served in the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British Raj, British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the British Indian Army, Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the ...

(RIN) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. ''Narbada'' was transferred to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in 1948 after the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, and served as ''PNS Jhelum''.

History

HMIS ''Narbada'' was ordered in 1940 as a part of the 1940 Build Program for the Royal Indian Navy. She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company and commissioned in 1943. With World War II underway, she was deployed as an escort to multiple Allied convoys en route to Bombay. Upon arrival, she joined the Eastern Fleet. In 1944, she was deployed for defence of military convoys in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. In early January 1945, she was deployed with to support the landing of the 74th Indian Brigade of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

Akyab Sittwe (, ), formerly Akyab (), is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptying into the Bay of Bengal. As of 2019 the cit ...

Peninsular, as a part of Operation Lightning. ''Jumna'' and ''Narbada'' engaged Japanese batteries up the

Kaladan River The Kaladan (, ) or Kissapanadi River (, ), also known as the Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne, is a river in the eastern Mizoram, Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. The Kaladan River is called the Chhimtuip ...

near

Ponnagyun Ponnagyun () is a town in Rakhine State, in the westernmost part of Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southe ...

. After embarking troops, she joined Task Force 64 headed by for support of landing by 3rd British Commando Brigade between Akyab and Ramree with and HMIS ''Jumna''. On 13 January 1945, with the task force under attack by Japanese aircraft, ''Narbada'' downed an Oscar aircraft of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

. In February, she supported the landing of the 53rd Indian Infantry Brigade at Ryuwa with and HMIS ''Jumna''. She was hit aft by return fire, but continued operations. In March, she returned to Bombay for a refit and to repair damages. In April 1945, she resumed escort duties and supported the Indian and British Army amphibious landings in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

with , , , and as a part of

Operation Dracula Operation Dracula was a World War II-airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Anglo-Indian forces during the Burma Campaign. The plan was first proposed in mid-1944 when the Allied South East Asia Command was preparing to reoccup ...

. The next month, in May, she was deployed with HMIS ''Cauvery'', HMIS ''Godavari'', HMIS ''Kistna'', HMIS ''Sutlej'' and HMIS ''Hindustan'' to intercept Japanese troops withdrawing from the Andamans. In July, ''Narbada'' was a part of the planned force for

Operation Zipper During World War II, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya, as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore in Operation Mailfist. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it ...

and conducted preparatory exercises, before the postponement of the operation. At the end of World War II, after the

Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, she sailed to Andaman waters and her

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

Martin Henry St. Leger Nott accepted the surrender of the Japanese

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in command of the

Car Nicobar Car Nicobar ( in Car language) is the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. It is also one of three local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Nicobar, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Annual ra ...

garrison onboard the ship. After the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

and the subsequent Partition, she was among the vessels transferred to Pakistan, where she was renamed HMPS ''Jhelum'' and subsequently, PNS ''Jhelum''. She was scrapped in 1959.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Narbada (U40) Black Swan-class sloops of the Royal Indian Navy Black Swan-class sloops of the Pakistan Navy 1942 ships India–Pakistan military relations Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company